Moving to the other side of Australia presents a massive upheaval for any young lad, let alone one who has grown up in a small community in the bush. But every year, the lottery that is the AFL draft results in many teenagers facing such a challenge. In late 2005, Marcus Drum, who grew up in Congupna, 15 kilometres north of Shepparton, was one of them.
Drafted by Fremantle, the then-18-year-old initially handled the upheaval with ease, impressing Dockers coach Chris Connolly, who grew up in the Goulburn Valley, with his polished skills and desire to make the grade.
When he made his debut midway through the 2006 season, Drum immediately looked at home in the Freo defence. In his most notable performance that year, he collected 15 possessions and crept forward to boot a goal as the Dockers defeated Collingwood at the MCG.
"It was a good start," Drum said this week. "I was part of the first four wins that ended up being nine in a row. We were flying at that stage."
A hamstring injury eventually tipped him out of the team, but like the Dockers, whose late charge took them all the way to the preliminary final, Drum's future looked bright. Connolly voted him Fremantle's best first-year player.
However, nearly three seasons down the track, not much else has gone to plan for the club nor its one-time rising star.
Last weekend against Port Adelaide, Drum, 22, played just his 19th AFL game. Although he did enough to win a berth in the side to play Melbourne at the MCG today, he appears certain to leave the Dockers at the end of the season. And there is no guarantee he'll attract the interest of another elite club.
So, what has happened to a lad who was one of country Victoria's most talented junior footballers?
Boasting an impeccable pedigree (an uncle on his father's side is former Geelong star and ex-Fremantle coach Damien Drum, while his mother is a sister of Richmond legend Francis Bourke) Drum played his first senior game with Congupna at the age of 15.
The following season he progressed to the Murray Bushrangers and was a revelation, helping the Bushies reach the TAC Cup grand final.
Despite being skinnier and a year younger than many of his teammates, including Brett Deledio and Shannon Byrnes, Drum was named in the best players almost every week.
As a result he was selected in the Victoria Country squad, which played in the national under-18 championships. Then standing 191 centimetres but weighing only 76 kilograms, his accurate kicking, strong marking and attack on the ball drew particular praise, and his subsequent selection in the All-Australian team caught the attention of many AFL scouts. Made Bushrangers captain in 2005, Drum was taken by Fremantle with pick 10 in that year's national draft.
"It was very exciting," he recalled. "I was really looking forward to the challenge of having to fend for myself and play footy in a new environment. Moving out of home at a young age certainly made me grow up at lot."
Although the hamstring injury was the low point of his debut season, he bounced back and almost forced his way into Fremantle's 2006 preliminary final team. But after making such a positive start, Drum's career suddenly stagnated after he tore his hamstring again, in the opening NAB Cup game of 2007.
"I felt like I was adapting to the pace of the game, then things went downhill," he said. "You hear about other guys having setbacks along the way and you just don't comprehend how hard they're going to be."
For much of the 2007 season Drum was forced to battle away with the Perth Demons in the WAFL.
"People kept treating me like I was injured. I felt pressure to perform, especially being a top draft pick. I put a lot of pressure on myself and maybe that was a bad thing."
He was finally included in the team to play Adelaide in round 16, and kicked four goals, yet was dropped two weeks later, amid the turmoil of Connolly's resignation. Drum wished he could simply pack up and return home to his family and his mates.
"I started wondering if it was all worth it. I battled homesickness and it certainly took a toll. I was thinking 'what I am I doing all this way over the other side of the country?' Sometimes you just want to live a normal life of a 22-year-old."
The frustration continued in 2008. Drum injured both his hamstrings at various stages, while Fremantle slumped down the ladder, as Harvey's first full year in charge turned to disaster. Towards the end of the season, however, things finally seemed to be looking up. Drum played in the last four home-and-away matches, collecting a career-high 24 possessions in round 22 against Collingwood.
"Once you're back in the team again it's happy days," he admitted.
Entering the final year of his contact, and with the Dockers having lost a number of players to retirement, he felt confident he would become an AFL regular in 2009. Instead, he has endured his most frustrating season. Selected in the team for round one, in which Fremantle was thrashed at home by the Western Bulldogs, he was promptly dropped and failed to make another AFL appearance until last weekend.
"My form probably hasn't warranted a game but I don't think I should have been dropped in the first place," he said. "I find it hard to get myself up to play in the WAFL. People don't realise that you only go to the last team meeting of the week at your WAFL club, then you play on the Saturday. Sometimes it's just not enjoyable."
The ruthless nature of elite football means Drum could next month be pushed out of "the system", his dream over at the age of 22. ''I certainly have the passion to want to continue," Drum says. "I've wanted to do this ever since I was a little kid. Once you get back in the team you realise how good it is, especially after a win. The hard work can pay off but it's a damn tough caper."
Article first appeared The Sunday Age,
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